P.E.I. government steps into contract dispute between university, faculty

P.E.I.'s Minister of Economic Growth has appointed the province's director of industrial and labour relations Patricia McPhail as a conciliator in contract negotiations between the University of Prince Edward Island and its instructional staff.

The move came at the request of the UPEI Faculty Association.

In a letter requesting the appointment dated Aug. 5, the faculty association's president Michael Arfken cited "intractable difficulties" and "little if any movement on a number of the most significant issues" in negotiations with the university.

If the conciliator finds the two sides are unable to reach an agreement, that would set the clock ticking to put the union in a legal position to strike, or to allow the university to lock out its professors.

Arfken said in an interview any such move by either side would be "a long ways off. We're still hopeful that we can work through things at this stage. But yeah, it could absolutely lead to a disruption [in the fall semester] if the parties aren't able to reach an agreement."

The PEIFA's previous collective agreement with the university had been set to expire on July 1, 2020, but the parties signed a two-year extension which expired in June 2022.

The two sides have met 20 times between April 21 and Aug. 4.

Disagreement over need for conciliator

The faculty association said it's been unable to reach an agreement on salary and benefits, health and safety issues, workload, and "language around greater accountability and transparency," among other issues.

The university wrote to the minister asking that he not appoint a conciliator.

"The Faculty Association has declared that direct collective bargaining is at an end. We disagree. We are not at an impasse," wrote interim president Greg Keefe.

"The appointment of a conciliation officer at this point is unwarranted and we are optimistic that if both sides commit to working hard, a deal can be achieved without this assistance."

In a follow-up letter in response to that, Arfken argued the university's assertion the two sides are not at an impasse "reinforces our position that the parties have reached an impasse and that it is appropriate at this juncture to work with a neutral third party."

According to P.E.I.'s Labour Act, a conciliation officer is to try to help two sides in a contract dispute reach an agreement, and advise the minister on issues of dispute.

We're still hopeful that we can work through things at this stage. But yeah, it could absolutely lead to a disruption [in the fall semester].- Michael Arfken, UPEI Faculty Association

A conciliation officer is also meant to advise the minister on whether further steps might be required to bring about a settlement, including the appointment of a conciliation board or a mediator, both of which have the power to compel parties to attend meetings and provide oral or written evidence.

If the conciliator is unable to get the parties to agree, that would allow for a legal strike or lockout as early as 14 days after the conciliator files her report to the minister.

The minister can also appoint an arbitrator, with the power to impose a binding settlement, at the request of either party.

University reveals salary info

On Thursday the chair of the university's board of governors sent an email to staff disclosing salary information of the university's top earners.

"While there is no legislation or legal requirement on PEI to disclose the salaries of UPEI employees, many universities across the country are required to publish compensation information," Pat Sinnott said in the email.

"In the interest of transparency and accountability, the Board of Governors decided at a recent meeting that it would disclose the salary grid for employees who earn over $100,000 per annum."

The university said nearly a third of the positions on campus — 270 of 867 jobs — pay more than $100,000 per year:

The email said the university's interim president receives a salary of $366,500, representing "the mean salary of eight comparator universities in the region."

Arfken said the email from the board coincided with the deadline on a freedom-of-information request filed by the union seeking salary information for senior administrators. He pointed out professors' salaries are already available online through the union's collective agreement.

"But we have no clarity on how funds are being used to support senior management …We wanted to get some information, both for us but we think taxpayers should be aware of this."

Arfken wouldn't elaborate on the union's position on specific points of disagreement, but said the union is looking for a salary increase for faculty that factors in inflation, "and as you know cost of living has taken a pretty significant increase over the last few months."

CBC News requested an interview with the university's administration but none was granted. There was also no response provided on whether the salary figure listed for the president includes incentives and other top-ups.